Description

Grumman’s decision to build an amphibian in which wealthy owners could commute from Long Island to New York’s East River was huge gamble. It would be the company’s largest aircraft and the first for the civilian market. The gamble paid off and the G-21 Goose was soon also being purchased by military customers around the world. The smaller G-44 Widgeon was introduced in 1940 with similar success, and post WWII the G-73 Mallard was hailed by many as the most graceful amphibian aircraft ever built. Fred Knight’s book documents the development of each of the three types and gives detailed coverage of world-wide military and civilian operators, together with full details of the modifications and conversions carried out by McKinnon and others. Illustrated by over 700 photos, drawings, and maps, including two 16-page colour sections, and with appendices covering the detailed history of each of the 721 airframes built, including the French-built SCAN-30 Widgeons, the book provides the reader with the most comprehensive coverage of these iconic aircraft available hitherto